Plenary, 01 Jul 2004

Meeting date: Thursday, July 1, 2004

Official Report 691KB pdf

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Points of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer.

I think that Mr Gallie gave notice of a point of order first. I will take him first.

Following on from the points of order that were raised at the end of question time and at the end of business last Thursday, did the Presiding Officer and First Minister come together to discuss the ministerial code of conduct? Further, has the Presiding Officer given consideration to the fact that if a minister arrives late and is criticised, or is likely to be criticised, during the course of question time, they should not depart early?

On the first point, the First Minister and I did not come together, but our respective views were absolutely and adequately made known to the Parliament. On the second issue, there were awkwardities on this occasion, but I am absolutely sure that such an eventuality will not arise again.

Presiding Officer, I gave you a wee bit of notice of my point of order. Following the First Minister's inability to confirm the situation in relation to charging for entry to the new Parliament, can the Presiding Officer—[Interruption.] Excuse me.

If it is a point of order, get to it now, please.

It is a point of order. Can the Presiding Officer give Parliament the appropriate information and the opportunity to debate the appropriateness of charging people who have already paid for the Parliament through their taxes an additional fee to be allowed entry? What opportunity will we be given? For example, would you be minded to accept a motion without notice to schedule a statement this afternoon, so that the Parliament has an opportunity to discuss whether it is appropriate to charge—

I am being very patient.

—so that it can avoid another public relations disaster before the end of this session?

One of the ways you get PR disasters is if information is misinterpreted to the public. [Applause.]

Tell us. What is it then?

I make it absolutely clear that this Parliament has duly elected members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to decide on such matters. They consulted widely. I make it absolutely clear that the fundamental democratic right of the people of Scotland to meet their representatives is free. It is free to come to debates. It is free to come to committees. It is free to meet members. It is free to be in the front hall. Anything else is misrepresentation of the situation.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer.

Order. I am not finished speaking. For those people who want what could be called special tours—the architectural tours, the frippery bits, the guided explanations—there will be charging. The tours are long and the charging will pay exclusively for the guides who guide the tours. There is no profit element whatsoever.

That is the end of that. I suspend Parliament for lunch.

Meeting suspended.

On resuming—